The invention pertains to a machine for mowing stalk-type crops which contains a conveyor wheel that can be put into rotation about an approximately vertical axis and which is provided with recesses distributed over its circumference and designed as receptacles for plant stalks, wherein a stationary shield that shields a region of the conveyor wheel surface is arranged above the conveyor wheel.
A device for mowing stalk-type crops is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,737. This device includes coaxially arranged cutting and conveyor wheels that rotate about an approximately vertical axis, with the conveyor wheels being above the cutting wheels and provided with a series of pocket-like recesses distributed over their circumference. The cutting wheels rotate and cut off the stalks of the plants to be harvested, for example corn stalks. The conveyor wheels that rotate in opposite directions transport the plants rearward in the pocket-like recesses. The plants are subsequently removed from the recesses by means of bow-shaped clearing devices arranged on the upper side of the conveyor wheels and transported to the feed rollers of a field chopper. In the intake region, the clearing devices are arranged at a distance from the pocket-like recesses, but extend outward to such an extent in the delivery region that they press the stalks out of the recesses. The cutting wheels are equipped with upwardly protruding ribs that serve for directing the cut plant stalks inward and holding said stalks within the effective range of the pocket-like recesses of the conveyor wheels. The conveyor wheels have a smooth upper side. Except for the clearing devices, the conveyor wheels are not provided with a shield.
Another mowing device is disclosed in GB 2 012 154 A. This mowing device is also composed of cutting wheels and conveyor wheels coaxially arranged above the cutting wheels. An upwardly open channel is defined by shields situated above, and adjacent to, the conveyor wheels. The upright plants are transported rearward through this channel and transported to the feed rollers of a field chopper. In one embodiment, the conveyor wheels are flat and provided with pocket-like recesses on the outer circumference. In another embodiment, the conveyor wheels contain prongs that are distributed over their circumference and that extend approximately in the radial direction, wherein said prongs are bent rearwardly, opposite to the direction of rotation, over approximately half their length.
A mowing device with a conveyor wheel that is provided with recesses and with a stationary shield that is arranged above the conveyor wheel is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,922. In this case, it is proposed to open a depression in the shield when harvesting whole plant silage and to shield the depression when harvesting corn.
One disadvantage of the described mowing devices can be seen in the fact that plant parts accumulate on the shields of the conveyor wheels and are thus lost. If no shield is provided, corn cobs and other plant parts that drop from the plant, during the cutting process or transport, fall onto a conveyor wheel and are thrown to the ground by the rotating conveyor wheel, resulting in the crop parts being lost.
According to the present invention, there is provided an improved machine for mowing stalk-crops, and more particularly there is provided an improved stationary, upper shield for a rotary crop conveyor that turns about an upright axis.
An object of the invention, is to provide an improved upper shield, as stated above, which is designed for reducing crop loss during harvesting.
A more specific object of the invention, is to provide an upper shield, as stated in the preceding object, which defines an opening between an outer forward region of the shield, which curves next to the roots of the gathering recesses located in the crop conveyor, and an inner region of the shield, which is mounted over a central part of the crop conveyor.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an upper shield, as set forth in the immediately preceding object, wherein the opening is in communication with the feed path of the incoming crop material.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an upper shield for a rotary crop conveyor, where the shield is provided with a leading edge, as considered relative to the direction of rotation of the crop conveyor, to guide crop to the crop feed path.
Another object of the invention is to provide a crop conveyor having a plate-like upper conveyor section having an upper side that is provided with pocket-like recesses only in the edge region with at least one crop transport element that is designed for transporting away plant parts. In order to ensure that the transport element releases the entrained plant parts so as to re-introduce the plant parts into the crop flow, the invention proposes that the transport element have a rejecting transport behavior. For this purpose, the transport element may be arranged on the conveyor wheel at a trailing angle relative to the radial direction.
These and other objects will be evident from a reading of the ensuing description together with the appended drawings.